Singareni Collieries Company Limited gets nod to divert 162 hectares of forest land

The approval was granted by the FAC in its meeting held on January 27, of which the minutes were uploaded recently.

For representational purposes (Photo | EPS)

HYDERABAD: The Forest Advisory Committee of the Union Ministry of Environment and Forests approved the proposal by Singareni Collieries Company Limited (SCCL) for the diversion of 162.45 hectares of forest land in the Indaram Reserved Forest in Mancherial district for the Srirampur Open Cast-II coal mine expansion project. This will result in the axing of at least 34,621 trees.

The approval was granted by the FAC in its meeting held on January 27, of which the minutes were uploaded recently. 

Over 114 hectares of forest land had been acquired for the open cast mine earlier, to which the 162.45 hectares will be added.

The SCCL has been applying for a slew of proposals seeking forest clearance for coal mining, pointing out the need to satisfy the “ever increasing” demand for coal.